Stolar siblings the top seeds at Shumaker tennis

Thirty-five hours. That's how long Makenzie Stolar will have been off the tennis court before her firstround match in the Beverly Shumaker USTA Junior Open Tennis Tournament begins, at 9 a.m. today, at Marilla Park.

Stolar lost her last match in the Battle of the Burg USTA tournament, in Fredricksburg, Va., at 10 p.m. Thursday. Shortly afterward, she climbed back into the car for a 4 1/2-hour ride back to Morgantown, pulling in at about 3:30 a.m. Friday.

So really, that cuts her time off to 29 1/2 hours.

During that time, she had one important task.

"Rehydrate," she said. "I will be physically and mentally tired. [The temperature] was in the 100s."

Her younger brother, Isaac, who is also competing today, was in the same boat. His last match in Fredricksburg was Wednesday, but while Makenzie played twice, he played three times. And, as tennis is a family affair for the Stolars, he will also have 29 1/2 hours between arrival and match time.

"It's not usually like that," Isaac said. "Maybe about once a year. We try to do maybe two tournaments a month all year."

Makenzie is the two-time defending Shumaker tournament champion at the 18-and-under and 16-andunder levels. Isaac won the 14-and-under title two years ago, and he is the two-time defending champ at 16-andunder -- the highest class for boys last year. Both siblings, who are homeschooled in the Morgantown area, will be competing at 18-and-under this year.

So, weary or not, Makenzie, 17, and Isaac, 15, are the front-runners this weekend.

"It's gonna be a challenge, but we will have to try it and do the best we can," Isaac said. "This is also what we practice for, so we're able to do this. We train ourselves to be able to do this."

Makenzie will face University High's Ally Rees in her first-round matchup. She said she has practiced with Rees at Ridgeview Racquet Club, but this will be their first time competing against one another in a tournament.

Ally and her twin sister, Alyssa, "are really nice, and I look forward to that match because it's fun to play nice people," she said.

As far as the No. 1 seed attached to her name, Stolar said it doesn't mean anything. "There's some good players coming," she said. "Every match is hard. You still have to focus mentally the same."

Isaac will face UHS's Ben Paul -- the only other player in his age division -- days after facing a field of 64 competitors.

"It's gonna be a little bit different," he admitted. "Ben Paul is a good competitor, so it will be a good match."

Twenty-two young tennis players from the Ohio Valley, West Virginia and Texas will compete in the tournament. Other girls representing the area will be UHS's Alyssa Rees and Cassie Seamon, and MHS's Stephanie Arnold, Abby Rosiello and Sydney Kacik.